Search - Jaynetts :: Sally & All the Rest

All the Rest, But Sally's Still The Best

FMJ | 12/13/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Jaynetts are arguably the most mysterious of all girl groups to hit big on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This is because the group was somewhat fictitious. They were really a cadre of singers employed by producer Zelma Sanders to record mostly her compositions. Her daugher, Johnnie Louise Richardson, most notably of "Johnnie & Joe" fame, once said that any girl in the neighborhood who could sing could be a Jaynette.



Indeed, this is perhaps what makes the group mysterious and intriguing. Identifying the vocalists on their tracks has become a sport of sorts for especially girl group historians. John Clemente's "Girl Groups, Fabulous Females That Rocked The World" provides the most comprehensive explanation for the Jaynetts to date. Briefly, the creation of the Jaynetts was a promotional strategy Sanders thought would work in getting airplay. They were mostly members of the Hearts who recorded material that Sanders thought would have a good shot at radio airplay under a different name. It was like throwing everything up in the air and seeing what lands face up.



This cd consists of the Billboard #2 pop smash "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" along with tracks from the "Sally" lp and several follow up singles that all failed to have any impact. The Sally follow-up, "Keep An Eye On Her" spent two weeks on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart, peaking at #120. That was it for the Jaynetts' chart career, relegating them to "One Hit Wonder" status in music history books.



When listening to the tracks it is clear that Sanders did not use the same group of girls on each recording. "Sally" was reportedly recorded by Ethel Davis, Lezli Valentine, Marie Hood, Louise Harris Murray. Davis, the reported lead on "Sally" does not sound like the same lead on "Keep An Eye On Her." That track sounds like Lezli Valentine. The other tracks could feature the lead vocals of any of the other reported members of the Jaynetts including Johnnie, Yvonne Bushnell, Ada Ray, Mary Sue Wells, Linda & Evangeline Jenkins and Zelma Sanders only knows who else. The very first Jaynetts named recording from 1958, "Where Are You Tonight," which is really the Baby Washington led Hearts, is also included.



A notable track on the cd are the Lezli Valentine led song "I Just Can't Help It," credited to the Clickettes, the name of another Sanders girl group that had been led by Barbara Jean English. The song "There Is No Love At All" originally recorded by the Lezli Valentine led Hearts gets a dreadful treatment and in no way matches the original. That original version can be found on the cd "Baby Washington & The Hearts: The J&S Years."



Perhaps the most interesting post-"Sally" single was the 1965 release "Who Stole The Cookie." Sounding like a cross between Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" and Shirley Ellis' "The Name Game," it was probably released to cash in on the popularity of Ellis' hit.



Although the cd covers most of the post-"Sally" recordings, none of them really hold a candle to "Sally." Collectors and girl-group fans would be most interested in this collection. The cd gives us all the rest but Sally's still the best.

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